Inflation is typically calculated using Consumer Price Index data, which is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS calculator is a handy way to get inflation for a few numbers, but there’s a more efficient way if you need to calculate many years at once.
1. Go to data.bls.gov.
2. Scroll down a bit to view the many data download options. A huge amount and variety of data is available here, but we’re going to keep it simple by selecting the Top Picks button for All Urban Consumers (Current Series) database.
2. Click the checkbox for the first series listed: U.S. All items, 1982-84=100 – CUUR0000SA0
3. The data will appear, with options for choosing different years. Set the range to match the data you want to calculate and click the checkbox to display annual averages.
4. Once you see the data appear, download the .xls file that contains the same data. Copy the data from the “Annual” column and paste this into a column in the spreadsheet with your data.
5. Next, we need to adjust these index numbers to the year we want as our baseline. If you want the values adjusted to 2015 dollars, for example, then 2015 is our baseline. In a new column, use a percent change formula to calculate the ratio of each year’s index compared to the baseline index.
6. Now that you have the ratio, you can use this as a multiplier with the real dollars for each year. In a column for inflation-adjusted values, use a formula to make this calculation.
Not sure if you did it correctly? You can always use the BLS calculator to check a few years and make sure the numbers are the same.